The Italian Renaissance, Important Works
The Italian Renaissance was a period of time understood from the beginning of the fifteenth century to the mid -16th century, popularly known in this way because it was understood that they were facing a rebirth of the arts. New ways of thinking will emerge, such as humanism, and particularly in the area of the arts, a series of new discoveries will be given that will produce a stir throughout Europe.
I found this essay on one of the most distinctive and revolutionary characteristics of art in this period, the perspective and representation of space, and refer to some of the artists who made the greatest contributions, as well as stood out inThis area. This new form of representation humanized the arts and approached them to the real world, to the world we know and in which we move.
As we know, in previous times, art was deeply related to the gods, and the forms of representation were completely different from those we will see from the fifteenth century in Italian art. In Egyptian art, for example, the hierarchy of figures represented their power (the greatest, most important). The Renaissance was characterized by his attempt to approach what they knew about ancient art (Greek), breaking with the idea of art in the medievo.
Art will acquire a new use (and although most of the issues that were discussed were still religious) and new techniques, one of them, the perspective. The perspective was born as the method to be able to represent as similar as possible the three -dimensional reality in a two -dimensional plane.
One of the best known painters for his work in this method will be Paolo Uccello (1397-1479). It was said of this artist who was passionate about this new discovery and dedicated much of his life to studying it. One of his best known works "The Battle of San Romano" was probably painted for one of the rooms of the Palace of Médicis, one of the most powerful Florentine families of the time. It is a wood temper made in 1450 that represents the San Romero battle in 1432, where Florence had been winning.
These artists have a taste for the sumptuous, the decoration, in this case, we observe it in armor, clothing and horses. The work may seem quite medieval with the naked eye, the figures seem unrealistic and false, this may be because Uccello put special emphasis on the study of perspective. For Vasari "it would have been the most delicious and original genius after Giotto in the art of painting if he had worked both in the figures and animals as he struggled and lost time in the things of perspective" (Giorgio Vasari, 1550: 77).
While the figures may seem false, Uccello’s interest in the rules of perspectives was so great that he could perfectly represent the figures lying on the ground scortled. Even spears are ordered according to the escape point, which caused the work to enjoy a certain harmony and reality although it had not yet developed the rules of chiaroscuro.
Paolo Uccello, "The Battle of San Romero" H.1450.
These paintings were in many cases translated into sculptures in order to glorify individual figures, such as equestrian monuments. An example of this is the monument to Sir John Hawkwood, which is in the Florence Chapel, in which Paolo works from the point of view of the observer.
He spent his life in solitude, living almost like a hermit developing such a passion, as was for him, relief and perspective. Vasari writes in this regard that if he had dedicated the same time to the figures as to space, and the perspective, he would have managed to carry them out perfectly. He only obtained renown as a landscape, since he stood out in this more than any of his predictors.
Another pioneers of this "new" art was Masaccio (1401-1428). When we want to talk about a good painting, the sources say we must refer to him. He perfected his art in such a way that painting seemed alive, full of movement, and natural. One of his most notable works is "La Trinidad".
Massaccio "La Trinidad" H. 1425-1427.
Church of Santa María Novella, Florence.
This is one of the first works where the depth in space is presented with such interest. The sarcophagus in the lower part of the painting coincides with the level of our vision, so the spectators will contemplate from below to the Great Trinity. The vault has a Roman form, and from our point of view, we can perceive the depth of the same thanks to the perspective used by the artist. Masaccio used several architectural resources. Such domain of perspective generates the viewer the optical illusion that is a real chapel even if it is facing a wall.
In order for all these new techniques to be carried out, it was necessary to have a new theoretical knowledge that explained them, and a certain scientific and specifically mathematical knowledge was required. Another of his most recognized works is "the tribute to the currency" (3). It dates from 1425, in it Masaccio marked a new trend since it practically did not have an architectural fund that showed its use of perspective.
Massaccio "The Tribute to La Moneda" H.1425. Brancacci Chapel, Florence.
His result with this temper was satisfactory, since the point of view he used allowed all the pieces that compose it, to be in harmony for the viewer’s view. He was an artist "very diligent in his trade and ingenious and admirable in the solution of perspective difficulties"
Unlike Uccello’s temples, in this work Masaccio uses the perspective in a new way, playing with colors in the clothes, and thus recreating reality, without the need for a scenography to do this possible. He became one of the most famous and recognized painters of his time, despite perishing so young and not having such recognition in life. He was buried in 1443 in the church of Santa María del Carmine in Florence, where several of his works were.
Shortly after his death, Andrea Mantegna was born (1431-1506). Born in a humble family of Mantua, he was one of the most famous painters of all time. It will be the one who continues with the inheritance of Masaccio. He learned a lot from this trade in a school in Padua, but when he got success, and married Bellini’s daughter (painter of the time), SquarcionThe center of various criticisms.
These criticisms, although they were still hurtful, encouraged Mantegna, who took the criticism constructively and set out to improve his work. He drew natural figures until he perfected his technique spectacularly. One of his latest works (4), a temper on table, currently found in the Louvre Museum, denotes all his talent.
Andrea Mantegna "Madonna Della Vittoria" H. 1496. Louvre Museum.
It was a job commissioned by Marqués Francesco Gonzaga, to glorify one of his victories. It shows the Virgin, sitting on her throne with a child in her arms, while selling to the Marquis, which is presented by Santa Ana, San Joaquín and San Miguel Arcángel.
This taste for the ancient world, a trend at this reborn time, is observed in some clear references such as the nakedness of some figures.
On the Virgin, an arc or crown covered with several species of plants and vegetation, which allows us to perceive its depth thanks to the perspective. The Marquis at his feet is ra that. This work not only earned a great recognition to Mantegna, but was remarkably grateful and paid by the Marquis, who gave a title of Knight to Mantegna until the day of his death.
Similarly, he admirably improved the difficult task of drawing bodies in scorzo, as can be seen in his painting "Dead Christ", a fabric temper where Christ is observed in a bed, while the Virgin cries out inconsolably.
Andrea Mantegna "Cristo Dead" H. 1480. Brera Pinacoteca.
The painter put special emphasis on the details of said temper. The wounds of Christ in feet and hands, the facial features of the Virgin, thus achieving their figures, and moving them away from the representations to which we are normally accustomed.
Despite the force with which the art of perspective also uses, it does not exploit it in the way Uccello did it. Decides to make part of his works in a more graceful and favorable way. That is, it creates through it a more enjoyable scenario so that the figures represented are favored, generating a sense of movement and naturalness. Each figure has an important meaning for the entire painting, so Managna will try not to neglect this aspect for getting lost in the representation of space as if his predecessor did. In this way he hopes to convey to the observer the meaning of his painting and what develops in it.
In this way, in the Cinquecento (16th century) one of the most famous and innovative periods of Italian art will be given, as well as its greatest artists. They began to get more and more involved with mathematics and the laws of nature to improve perspective methods.
Artists will have an increasing freedom to express themselves through their works. Brunelleschi’s discovery in 1415 that had allowed these painters to begin to apply the perspective, using a escape point, had been one of the greatest discoveries so far. However, a century later, these techniques will increasingly improve with the contributions of various artists such as those mentioned above, among others.
"The artist was now a teacher in his own right, who could not achieve fame without exploring the mysteries of nature and the laws that govern the universe". One of these men who created, explored, studied and tirelessly investigated everything that caught his attention, was Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519).
It belonged to a good family, so having continued their scientific studies, it could have developed significantly in this area. However, several studies began that did not culminate. As a painter, he trusted only in his instincts, what he saw with his own eyes. One of his greatest wishes was to show that painting was a free art, so he never neglected the drawing, for Vasari he was born with the "gift of God".
He studied the focal perspective and dedicated himself to correcting his mistakes aspiring to represent reality, better than his predecessors. Beyond the mathematical calculations that the technique of the perspective required, Leonardo sought how to naturalize it. That is, the final finish of the work was as close as possible to the persecution obtained from the world through view.
Thus, it contributed to the improvement of this technique with the "color perspective" or "aerial". This was based on the fact that the further an object is from us, our vision will perceive it more blurry and faint. In this sense, the object should not only decrease its size but also its sharpness.
This characteristic would have been impercibible and unacceptable for previous artists such as Piero Della Francesca or Alberti, however Da Vinci considered the fact that the edges of the objects far from our sight were found diffuse so that the final result obtained was approachingas much as possible to your empirical experience.
Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper" H. 1975-1978. Monastery of Santa Maria Delle Grazie, Milan.
"The Last Supper" is one of the most recognized works carried out to date. It is a temper on plaster, with a beautiful finish, and a realism worth admiring. Each of the details that compose it make it unique, the dishes on the table, the expressions about the faces of the apostles, there is no detail that Da Vinci has left out.
It is a unique piece, a representation as no other had been seen. First he did not feel satisfied with finishing it since he did not consider himself able to imagine a face that could match Christ in divinity, as well as such an evil one capable of representing Judas, who ended up giving the prior’s face.
With this same inconvenience, he abandoned many works, feeling unable to capture in a painting the genius that he could represent in his mind. This was the case of the famous "Mona Lisa" which began for Francesco del Giocondo, who commissioned a portrait of his wife, in which he worked four years.
In oil on table, Leonardo managed to portray the woman in such a natural and real way, which seems alive. That feeling of reality is possible thanks to the aerial perspective that the artist applied in it. The surrounding scenography is blurred towards the horizon, generating an optical effect.
Thus, each artist made their contribution to the problem of perspective, going to history, expressing their respective ways of seeing reality and sharing them with the world.
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